Knight Fire Surpasses 4,000 acres

Sonora, CA — The Stanislaus National Forest reports the eight day old Knight Fire has now burned 4,050 acres.

Containment is listed at 30 percent for the fire (10 miles north of Twain Harte) which started at 3:35pm last Sunday. The latest report was issued at 8am today.

Firefighters are conducting burn-out operations along containment lines to solidify them and hold the fire at bay. The burn-out operation is a major cause of the heavy smoke. That smoke will continue to impact many outlying areas including Sonora, Twain Harte and Angels Camp for the time being. 

Cooler temperatures and higher humidity levels have allowed firefighters to make good progress with their efforts. Acreage will continue to increase as the burn-out operations continue moving the fire to the west along the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River.

Mop-up and rehabilitation of control lines continue at the east end of the fire. Contingency line construction is nearing completion for the entire fire.

Several roads and recreation areas including Crandall Peak Staging Area, Sand Bar Flat Campground, Forest Road 4N01 west of Beardsley Rd., 4N01 at Fraser Flats and the southwest end of 4N16 (Italian Bar Rd.) are closed to the public due to the high number of fire personnel and the operations they are carring out in those areas. Only authorized personnel will be allowed to pass through Spring Gap.

Personnel on site today include 30 Type One hand cres, six Type Two hand crews, 10 helicopters, four air tankers, 62 engines, 25 water tenders and 13 dozers.

A total of 1,360 firefighters are assigned to the Knight Fire. Cost of fighting the fire to date stands at $5.7 million.

Click KNIGHT FIRE for fire location map.

Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com